BettyLou DeCroce

BettyLou DeCroce (born November 17, 1952) is an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2012 to 2022, where she represented the 26th Legislative District.^[2]

BettyLou DeCroce
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 26th district
In office January 25, 2012 – January 11, 2022 Serving with Jay Webber
Preceded by	Alex DeCroce
Succeeded by	Christian Barranco
Personal details
Born	Betty Lou Bisson[1] (1952-11-17) November 17, 1952 (age 72)
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Alex DeCroce (1994–2012; his death)
Children	2
Residence	Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey

Biography and early career

Born and raised in Dover, DeCroce is a realtor who formerly served as the President of the firm ERA Gallo & DeCroce, Inc. She attended Berkeley College and Rutgers University.^[3]

A member of the Township Council in Mine Hill Township from 1981 to 1983, DeCroce later served on the Roxbury Township Planning Board from 1984 to 1987. In 1991, she was hired by the township to serve as its Deputy Township Manager from 1991 through 2002 and as its Township Clerk from 1988 to 2010.

In 2010, she was appointed Deputy Commissioner in the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, a position she held until 2012.^[3] During this time, she authored the Best Practices for Municipalities, which became a statewide model for identifying efficiencies in local government for reducing property taxes.

DeCroce has served on the Morris County Joint Insurance Fund and was the North Jersey Health Insurance Fund Commissioner.

She married Alex DeCroce, who had been in the Assembly for two terms, in 1994.^[4] She currently resides in Parsippany-Troy Hills and has two sons and four grandchildren.^[5]

New Jersey Assembly

Alex DeCroce, who had served in the Assembly since 1993, died suddenly on January 9, 2012, at the age of 75, shortly after the 214th Legislature had ended.^[6]

On January 25, 2012, BettyLou DeCroce was selected by the Morris County Republican Committee to replace him in the Assembly, defeating former Kinnelon Councilman Larry Casha by a nearly 2-1 margin.^[4][7] She won a November 2012 special election for the remainder of the term, defeating Democratic candidate Joseph Raich.^[8]

On June 8, 2021, DeCroce lost her reelection bid to former Pompton Lakes Councilman Christian Barranco.^[9]

Committee assignments

• Financial Institutions and Insurance
• Science, Innovation and Technology
• Transportation and Independent Authorities
• Joint Committee on the Public Schools
• New Jersey Legislative Select Oversight
• Intergovernmental Relations Commission
• Manufacturing Caucus

Electoral history

New Jersey Assembly

New Jersey general election, 2017

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jay Webber	31,810	28.2	2.1
	Republican	BettyLou DeCroce	31,766	28.2	1.9
	Democratic	Joseph R. Raich	24,732	22.0	2.6
	Democratic	E. William Edge	24,362	21.6	2.8
Total votes			'112,670'	'100.0'

New Jersey general election, 2015

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jay Webber	13,739	30.3	2.3
	Republican	BettyLou DeCroce	13,666	30.1	2.8
	Democratic	Avery Hart	8,805	19.4	2.0
	Democratic	Wayne B. Marek	8,525	18.8	1.7
	Green	Jimmy D. Brash	666	1.5	N/A
Total votes			'45,401'	'100.0'

New Jersey general election, 2013

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	BettyLou DeCroce	35,352	32.9	0.9
	Republican	Jay Webber	35,028	32.6	1.2
	Democratic	Elliot Isibor	18,720	17.4	0.6
	Democratic	Joseph Raich	18,379	17.1	0.5
Total votes			'107,479'	'100.0'

Special election, November 6, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Betty Lou DeCroce	51,485	60.5
	Democratic	Joseph R. Raich	33,618	39.5
Total votes			85,103	100.0

References

1. "Alex DeCroce Obituary (2012) - 75, Parsippany, NJ - the Daily Record". Legacy.com.
2. "New legislators take office at noon in historic shift of N.J. Legislature". New Jersey Globe. 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
3. Assemblywoman DeCroce's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 15, 2008.
4. Wright, Peggy (January 25, 2012). "BettyLou DeCroce wins 26th District seat held by late husband". Daily Record. Retrieved September 15, 2015. BettyLou DeCroce bested Larry Casha, 120-67, at a special convention Wednesday night, where GOP county committee delegates chose her to fill the state Assembly seat left vacant by her husband's death. ... BettyLou (nee Bisson), who married Alex DeCroce in 1994, had served as a Mine Hill councilwoman when she was in her mid-20s.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
5. "Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce". New Jersey Assembly Republicans. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
6. Staff. "N.J. Assemblyman Alex DeCroce collapses, dies in Statehouse after long legislative session", The Star-Ledger, January 10, 2012. Accessed October 10, 2012. "Longtime Assemblyman Alex DeCroce, the leading Republican of the state’s lower house who represented Morris County for 23 years, collapsed and died in a bathroom inside the Statehouse late Monday night, just moments after the 214th Legislature held its final voting session."
7. Goldberg, Dan. "BettyLou DeCroce to assume N.J. Assembly seat, succeed husband in 2 weeks", The Star-Ledger, January 26, 2012. Accessed October 10, 2012. "It will be about two weeks before BettyLou DeCroce officially takes her seat in the state Assembly. She was selected Wednesday night by the Republican County Committee to fill the seat left vacant by the death on Jan. 9 of her husband, Alex DeCroce, the Assembly minority leader."
8. Rizzo, Salvador (November 7, 2012). "N.J. Assemblywomen secure seats in special election". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
9. "Barranco, Webber win GOP nods in district 26". New Jersey Globe. 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-06-09.

External links

• Assemblywoman DeCroce's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature
• New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms:
  • 2013 2012 2011

New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by Alex DeCroce	Member of the New Jersey General Assembly for the 26th District January 25, 2012 – January 11, 2022 With: Jay Webber	Succeeded by Christian Barranco